From painting fields to 'Pac-12 After Dark': Fresno State’s small-ball roots meet a bigger stage

LAS VEGAS — Fresno State is moving into a conference with a bigger television platform, deeper rosters and more sophisticated weekly challenges. But the Bulldogs do not plan to finesse their way into their new neighborhood.

They intend to run the football, control the clock, create takeaways, and lean on lessons learned in places where coaches painted fields before kickoff.

For head coach Matt Entz, Fresno State’s first season in the new Pac-12 represents another step in a journey largely shaped far from college football’s brightest lights. Before leading North Dakota State to two FCS national championships, coaching at USC and winning nine games in his first season with the Bulldogs, Entz was doing just about every job small-college football could offer.

He handled team travel at a Division II school. At the FCS level, he tracked financial aid and scholarship equivalencies. At his first full-time job, Entz was both the defensive coordinator at a Division III school and an assistant track and field coach.

That meant occasionally driving the bus and making sure the pole vault equipment was properly secured to the van.

“You’re 23, 24 years old, first full-time job,” Entz said. “You’re willing to do whatever you can.”

Those jobs might not appear in bold type on a coaching résumé, but Entz believes they helped create the coach he is today.

“When you have your roots in small-college football, I don’t think you take anything for granted,” Entz said. “You appreciate everyone within your program.”

That appreciation has become part of Fresno State’s mission. Entz wants the Bulldogs to recognize the energy and effort of everyone in the building because he knows someone is doing the laundry, painting the field, and mowing the grass.

For many members of his staff, there was a time when that someone was them.

Defensive coordinator Nick Benedetto understands that better than most.

Benedetto’s first coaching opportunity came under Hall of Fame coach Mike Woodley at NAIA program Grand View. As he moved through the profession, Benedetto washed laundry and painted practice fields.

At one Division II school, the players had already returned to the locker room before a game when the staff realized the extra-point line had never been painted. So Benedetto ran onto the field, painted it himself and hurried back inside.

“Football’s football, no matter what,” Benedetto said. “Obviously, there’s more glitz and glamour the higher up you go.”

Now, the coach who once painted an extra-point line moments before kickoff is preparing Fresno State’s defense for Pac-12 After Dark.

Benedetto spent enough time in the Central time zone to know the games really do come after dark for much of the country. But he also understands the weight carried by the conference name.

“No matter where you are in the nation, that’s a national brand and a national motto,” Benedetto said. “We’re thrilled for that.”

Fresno State is not entering its new conference on reputation alone.

In Entz’s first season, the Bulldogs went 9-4 and won the Arizona Bowl. They have now recorded at least nine victories in four of the past five seasons.

Their formula was not particularly mysterious.

Fresno State rushed for 2,216 yards, its highest total since 2014, and went 8-0 when it ran the ball at least 32 times. The defense allowed just 286 yards and 19 points per game, finishing second nationally in pass defense at 153.8 yards per game and tied for seventh with 26 takeaways.

It was physical, disciplined and largely devoid of unnecessary drama, at least until offensive coordinator Josh Davis was informed that Pac-12 After Dark tends to create its own.

Davis’ offensive philosophy fits the larger personality Entz is building. A former record-setting South Dakota State receiver, Davis admitted his early football life was shaped by wanting to make plays through the air.

“I came from the receiver room, where it was all about satisfying my ego to make plays,” Davis said.

Play calling changed his perspective. Davis fell in love with running the football and with the battle unfolding between the offensive and defensive lines.

“The team that wins the line of scrimmage usually wins the football game,” he said. “That’s the way the Bulldogs plan to win.”

Fresno State returns its top three rushers in Rayshon Luke, Bryson Donelson and Brandon Ramirez, while adding former Weber State running back Tariq Thomas. The Bulldogs must replace several important pieces along the offensive line, including All-Mountain West center Jacob Spomer, but Davis has no intention of abandoning the ground game as the weekly competition increases.

He also plans to use the most dynamic offensive weapon.

“I believe in fullbacks,” Davis said.

Fresno State may classify some of those players as H-backs, and Ramirez offered a versatile version of the role last season, but Davis sees a tactical advantage in presenting two-back and even three-back formations. Many defenses rarely encounter those looks from their own offenses during spring practice or fall camp.

That makes the run fits, communication and adjustments feel new when the Bulldogs unveil them on game day.

“There’s a hidden advantage in just having that in our repertoire on a week-to-week basis,” Davis said. “We plan to use that to our advantage.”

Entz believes the Valley has no shortage of “big, tough kids” who love to block. That sounds less like nostalgia and more like a recruiting plan.

The Bulldogs will need every bit of that physicality. Their first Pac-12 road game comes at Washington State on October 3, followed by back-to-back rivalry games against Boise State and San Diego State. All 11 currently set matchups on Fresno State’s schedule will receive national broadcasts.

The platform is growing, but athletic director Garrett Klassy does not want Fresno State’s rise to come at the expense of its local identity.

Instead of taking one coach and two players to a traditional media day in Las Vegas, Fresno State staged its own event at Table Mountain Casino. The school brought its head coach, coordinators and 14 players while attracting media from throughout a region Klassy estimates includes approximately three million people.

“That’s what the Valley is based on,” Klassy said. “How do you partner and collaborate together to do something great in this region?”

Klassy wants Fresno State to “build a wall around this Valley,” strengthening the Bulldogs’ position as the region’s premier sports brand while using the Pac-12 platform to extend their reach nationally.

In other words, Fresno State is not joining the Pac-12 to become something else. The Bulldogs want to show the rest of the country exactly what they already are.

Entz hopes viewers see a hard-nosed, disciplined and selfless football team, one capable of separating itself through preparation. He returns 14 starters, and Fresno State lost only three portal players who logged at least 150 snaps last season, providing unusual continuity in the current college football landscape.

But Entz also understands that the Pac-12 will demand growth. Late kickoffs have already prompted adjustments to how Fresno State handles the end of its game week.

“Change is good,” Entz said. “That’s when you’re uncomfortable. That’s when you grow as a program.”

Every opponent will bring an experienced coaching staff, new schematic challenges and an elevated level of play. Entz’s answer is the same one that carried him from small-college football to national championships and eventually to Fresno State: people and process.

As for the chaos that historically arrives after dark in the Pac-12, Entz considers chaos management part of every coach’s job description.

Davis was less familiar with the phrase and initially confirmed that Fresno State does not employ an actual “chaos coordinator.” After some consideration, however, he accepted the assignment.

“That’s part of the job,” Davis said. “That’s what I signed up for. Call me the chaos coordinator, I guess.”

A staff that has washed uniforms, painted fields, driven buses and strapped pole vaults to vans should be ready for just about anything.